Beginning
Rise Up! Let Us Attack Edom
1 The vision of Obadiah about Edom:
I heard a message from the Lord,
and a herald has been sent to advise the nations:
“Rise up! Let us attack Edom!”
2 The Lord says to Edom:
I will make you the least of all the nations;
you are the object of utter contempt.
3 The pride in your heart has led you astray,
you who live in the crannies of the rock,
whose dwelling is on the heights.
You think to yourself,
“Who can bring me down to the ground?”
4 Even though you soar like an eagle
and your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down
says the Lord.
5 If thieves approached you,
or robbers during the night,
you would not be destroyed,
for wouldn’t they steal only what they wanted?
If grape-pickers were to come to you,
wouldn’t they leave gleanings?
6 But note how they will ransack Esau
and steal his hidden treasures.
7 All your former allies
will drive you to your borders.
Your confederates will overpower you,
those who eat your bread will set a trap for you,
but you will not realize it.[a]
8 On that day, says the Lord,
I will destroy all the wise men of Edom,
and wisdom will disappear from the mountains of Esau.
9 Your warriors will be so terrified, O Teman,[b]
that there will be no survivors on the mountains of Esau.
10 Because of the slaughter and the violence
inflicted on your brother Jacob,
shame will cover you
and you will be cut off forever.
11 On the day when you stood aside
while strangers carried off his wealth,
and foreigners passed through his gates
and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were as evil as they were.
Do Not Gloat over Your Brother on the Day of His Misfortune
12 Do not gloat over your brother
on the day of his misfortune.
Do not rejoice over the children of Judah
on the day of their ruin,
nor boast unfeelingly
on the day of their distress.
13 Do not enter the gate of my people
on the day of their calamity.
Do not join in the gloating
on the day of their calamity.
Do not lay your hands on their possessions
on the day of their calamity.
14 Do not wait at the crossroads
to slaughter their fugitives.
Do not hand over the survivors
on the day of their distress.
15 For the day of the Lord is near
for all the nations.
As you have done,
so will it be done to you;
your deeds will recoil upon your own head.
Dominion Will Belong to the Lord
16 Just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so shall all the nations drink continually;
they shall drink and gulp it down
and be as though they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion a remnant will be saved;
it will be holy,
and the house of Jacob will take possession
of those who dispossessed them.
18 Then the house of Jacob will be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame.
The house of Esau will be stubble;
it will be set afire and consumed,
and no one of the house of Esau will survive,
for the Lord has spoken.
19 My people from the Negeb[c]
will occupy the mount of Esau,
and people from the lowlands
will occupy the foothills
of the land of the Philistines.
They will occupy the fields of Ephraim and Samaria,
and Benjamin will possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of the Israelites
will possess Phoenicia as far as Zarephath,[d]
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will possess the towns of the Negeb.
21 Those who have been saved
will ascend Mount Zion
to rule over the mountains of Esau,
and dominion will belong to the Lord.
Recalcitrant Prophet[a]
Chapter 1
1 The word of the Lord came to Jonah, son of Amittai: 2 “Go immediately to the great city of Nineveh and denounce it, for their wickedness has revealed itself to me.” 3 But Jonah decided to run away from the Lord and flee to Tarshish.[b] He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship that was about to sail to Tarshish. He paid his fare and boarded the ship to journey with the sailors to Tarshish, and away from the presence of the Lord.
4 However, the Lord caused a violent wind to stir up the sea, and such a furious storm arose that the ship seemed to be on the verge of breaking up. 5 The sailors were terror-stricken, and each of them cried out to his god. They also lightened the weight of the ship by throwing the cargo overboard.
Meanwhile, Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship and was lying there fast asleep. 6 The captain found him there and said, “What are you doing there, sound asleep? Get up and call upon your God. Perhaps he will take pity on us and not allow us to perish.”
7 The sailors then said to each other, “Let us cast lots so that we can discover who is to blame for bringing us this bad luck.” Therefore, they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us why this calamity has come upon us. What is your occupation? Where do you come from? What is your country? What is your nationality?” 9 Jonah replied, “I am a Hebrew. I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 On hearing this, the sailors were even more terrified, and they said to him, “How could you have done this to us?” For they knew that he was fleeing from the Lord because he had told them so. 11 Then they said, “What shall we do with you to make the sea calm down for us?” For the sea was becoming increasingly more turbulent. 12 Jonah replied, “Pick me up and throw me overboard. Then the sea will calm down for you. I know it is my fault that this great storm has struck you.”
13 Even so, the sailors rowed with all their might to reach the shore, but they were unable to do so inasmuch as the sea was becoming increasingly turbulent. 14 Finally they cried out to the Lord, “Do not allow us to perish, Lord, for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us responsible for causing the death of an innocent man. For you yourself, O Lord, have brought this all about.” 15 Then they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the raging of the sea subsided. 16 On witnessing this, the men were seized by a great fear of the Lord, and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord and made vows to him.
Chapter 2
1 Then the Lord ordained that a large fish would swallow Jonah and he remained in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
Prayer of Deliverance[c]
2 Then from the belly of the fish Jonah offered this prayer to the Lord, his God:
3 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
From the belly of the netherworld I cried out for help,
and you heard my voice.
4 For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the sea,
and the flood enveloped me;
all your waves and your billows swept over me.
5 Then I thought, “I have been banished from your sight.
Will I ever be allowed again
to look upon your holy temple?”
6 The waters around me rose to my neck,
and the deep was closing around me;
seaweed was twined around my head.
7 Down I plunged to the roots of the mountains,
sinking to the netherworld
whose bars would imprison me forever.
But you brought me up alive from the pit,
O Lord, my God.
8 As my life was ebbing away,
I remembered the Lord,
and my prayer reached you
in your holy temple.
9 Those who worship false gods
abandon the source of their mercy.
10 But I with hymns of praise
will offer sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will fulfill.
Salvation comes from the Lord.
11 Then, in response to a command from the Lord, the fish spewed Jonah out upon the land.
An Unforeseen Success
Chapter 3
1 The word of the Lord then came to Jonah for a second time: 2 “Set out for the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message that I give you.”[d] 3 Therefore, Jonah set out and journeyed to Nineveh in obedience to the command of the Lord.
Now Nineveh was an exceedingly large city; it required three days simply to walk across it. 4 Jonah began his journey into the city, walking for an entire day. Then he proclaimed, “After forty days, Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The people of Nineveh believed this message from God. They proclaimed a fast, and everyone, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.
6 When the news reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat down in ashes. 7 Then he had this proclamation delivered throughout Nineveh: “Neither man nor beast, neither herd nor flock, is to eat anything. Do not allow them to eat or drink. 8 Every man and beast is to be covered with sackcloth. Let all cry out with fervor to God, and let them turn from their evil ways and their violent behavior. 9 Who knows? Perhaps God may change his mind and relent, and his fierce anger may abate, so that we will not perish.”
10 When God saw by their actions that they had turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not inflict upon them the punishment that he had threatened.
Chapter 4
Jonah’s Anger; God’s Reproof. 1 This decision greatly displeased Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 Praying to the Lord, he said, “Lord, isn’t this exactly what I predicted when I was still in my own country? That is why in the beginning I fled to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, who is slow to anger, abounding in mercy, and ready to relent from inflicting punishment. 3 Therefore, Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 The Lord replied, “Do you have any right to be angry?”
5 Then Jonah left Nineveh and walked to the east of the city. After making a booth for himself there, he sat under it in the shade while he waited to see what would happen to the city.
The Last Lesson
6 The Lord God then ordained that a gourd plant should grow up above Jonah to cast shade over his head and relieve his discomfort. Jonah was very happy about this plant.
7 But at dawn the next day, God ordained that a worm should infest the gourd plant, and it withered. 8 Then, when the sun rose, God ordained that a scorching wind should blow from the east. The sun beat down on the head of Jonah to such an extent that he grew faint. Then he begged that he might die, saying, “I would be better off dead than alive.”
9 God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?” Jonah replied, “I have every reason to be angry, angry enough to die.”
10 The Lord then said, “You are concerned about the plant, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow. It came into being in one night, and it perished in one night. 11 Therefore, why should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city in which there are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot tell their right hand from their left, as well as innumerable cattle?”
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